Tried With Fire

These are quotes from people directly involved in the crisis when Prince Edward County (PEC) closed their public school system to avoid compliance with Brown v. Board of Education. Helen Carter was a black staff member of the American Friends Service Committee. This is Quaker community service group who came to PEC to assist the black community in finding education alternatives for their children but also to try to bring reconciliation. John Hurt and Gary Smith were two of the children who lost 5 years of their education. I can't help but ponder their words in the light of events this week. "How can we in our tragedy act in such a way as not to allow the hatred which is all about us to consume us and become a part of ourselves?"  Helen Carter, 1961 1 "I wouldn't say the wound has been healed, but it's been dressed well enough that no one wants to take the bandage off it." John Hurt, 1992. 2 "I think that the Southern thing is be nice about ...

I've begun reading about the closing of Prince Edward County schools from 1959-1964. It's been eye-opening to say the least, given my ignorance about America's civil rights history. It's also a window into the blindness of the sin of racism. But this story is also about the power of education and the power to withhold it. Education can be used as a means of advancement and a weapon against ignorance, but what happens when it is deliberately withheld? Is this a form of oppression? When I read Karen Swallow Prior's bio of the English reformer, Hannah More, she fought for the education of the poor, but it was limited. They were only taught to read, not write. Boundaries of class needed to be preserved. Withholding or even giving a limited education achieved that end. Fast forward to 1950's Virginia. In 1951, black high school students in Farmville went on strike to protest the terrible conditions of their schools. The Commonwealth was already ranked 45 out ...

When I read Hidden Figures , it was eye-opening in more ways than one. In addition to the story of the three main characters, I received a brief lesson in civil rights history. During World War II, Virginia was in the bottom 25% of teacher's salaries. Black teachers earned half that amount. 1  Even though Supreme Court ruled in 1936 against racial discrimination in graduate admissions, the Commonwealth still found a way to maintain segregation. A voucher program was created to subsidize graduate tuition for black students in any state  but  Virginia. This program was in place until 1950. 2  These facts were asides within the larger narrative, but they still shocked me. As a child of immigrants, I know the value and power of education. It enabled my family to make a fresh start in a foreign land that is now our home. I've never been denied access to education because of my ethnicity or gender. But I've been sheltered in that regard. There are places in the wo...